Origin and history of bis-

1630s (adj.) "two-headed," specifically in anatomy, "having two distinct origins," from Latin biceps "having two parts," literally "two-headed," from bis "double" (see bis-) + -ceps, combining form of caput "head" (from PIE root *kaput- "head"). As a noun meaning "biceps muscle of the arm," from 1640s, so called for its structure. Despite the -s, it is singular, and classicists insist there is no such word as bicep.

kind of long, crisp cookies containing nuts,1990s, from Italian biscotti, plural of biscotto, from Medieval Latin biscoctum, literally "twice-baked," from Latin (panis) bis coctus "(bread) twice-baked;" see bis- + cook (v.). Compare biscuit.